Gleaming at her friend, a smile never leaving her face, Estella observed him quietly as he used his charming words, which she was sure he used on plenty of other girls, and took in the sight. The sight of her. She knew what they had wasn’t like what he had with other girls. She was his friend and he was her’s. She knew there was a special place in his heart that was just for her as there was for Nixie and Tommy. Though, over the years and because he left, not bothering to call or text, or even write, things were awkward. She knew that.
She also knew that as much as she and her friends clashed, may it be because Levi broke Nixie’s heart, or Tommy was being overbearing and telling her what to do, they promised her, no matter where they go, no matter how much they drift apart, no matter what changes and what stays the same, they’d always find their way back to each other. They were each other’s home.
Inhaling deeply as his gaze shifted past her, Estella took a moment to pull her phone out of her brown leather purse, which was handcrafted by Celi and embossed with painted flowers. While most would think she was checking her texts, she put the selfie camera on to see behind her, using her right hand to subtly shift her phone to look past her arm. It didn’t take long before she caught sight of red hair she knew too well. There was a moment where her mask dropped; her once kind eyes, void of emotion. She breathed out and kept quiet, watching him carefully.
When he ripped his attention away from staring at their mutual friend, her smile was back on, her beautiful, big amber eyes sparkled, and she changed her phone camera to normal mode directing it to him. When he asked if she was free and that they should spend time together, she quickly snapped a couple of pictures and playfully grinned, momentarily changing the subject, “I need to update your face! See,” she turned her phone towards him, “you look like a babyyyy,” Stella teased, showing a photo she took of him his senior year as he laid in the grass of her ranch, trying to nap under the blazing sun. “And yes, yes. I’m free,” she enthusiastically nodded.
Gasping joyfully, she drawled, giving her best mid-atlantic, Hollywood starlight voice, “You’ll win something for lil’ oh me?” before turning her phone around and placing it on her chest. Her enticing gaze never left his arctic blues, always looking deeply into them and giving dear Levi her undivided attention. Her head was tilted slightly downward as she batted her eyelashes. She looked away, searching for the right booth. “I’m just delighted you want to spend your day with me, Mr. Brooks. Oh I do wonder,” she purred as she found the game she wanted to try. “Are you still good at that basketball game?” She looked back up at him, ready to play. The twins present could wait.
Levi laughed as he looked at the picture Stella had on her phone, unaware that such a picture had ever even existed. He did remember those days like they were yesterday, however. When he was in California he sometimes wished he could have gone back to the Serrano family’s ranch just to clear his head. “We can take a better picture than that, together.”
As Stella put on a “damsel in distress” type accent, Levi looked down at her and smirked, intrigued by her equally playful nature. He held her gaze as she stared up at him and batted her eyelashes dramatically, taking the moment to appreciate the way her eyes reflected gold against the sunlight. “I thought you’d be too busy running around with your family to spend time with poor ole’ me.” He mimicked her accent and played along with the theatrics. Gently, he took her hand into his and bowed his head to her. “It is I who is delighted to have you with me on this fine day, m’lady.” He kissed the top of her hand as if she were royalty and he was but a lowly peasant, simply grateful to bask in her magnificent presence.
“Am I still good at the basketball game?” He laughed in hubris and stood again, releasing her hand from his. “Of course. Care to get your ass kicked, miss Serrano?” He grinned, feeling like a kid challenging her. As they made their way to the nearest basketball setup an idea popped into his mind. What was a game without some stakes involved? “Loser has to buy the winner a drink. You in?”
“I’ll raise you,” Stella countered, crossing her arms as she looked up at him and then the game. The worker waited on them to pay and play. “If I win, I get to give you a dare. If you win, same thing. If one of us makes all shots, we get to add a truth to that. No matter the subject, you have to answer and I will know you’re lying. Same thing goes for you to me.” She stepped forward and gently booped Levi’s nose, giving a devilish smirk, “If you’re down, why don’t you go first? Mr. I’m-the-best-at-this-game. Make me nervous, Captain.” She winked at him, not revealing her cards. If there was one thing she knew of her dear friend it was he didn’t know her. Not really. He left and didn’t see her change and grow. There was no doubt in her mind when he thought of her, he saw the little girl he knew many years ago. She wasn’t little anymore.
Levi raised a brow, intrigued by her suggestion. He looked her up and down, noting how short the little thing was. How did she have so much confidence in basketball? “You want me to dare you to kiss someone, don’t you?” He quipped, clearly assuming that he would win and have to give her a dare. “You’ve got yourself a deal.” He turned towards the man who was running the basketball stand and paid for both Stella and himself to play. As soon as the one minute timer began, the machine dropped several basketballs for Levi to grab and start throwing. He quickly picked up one of the balls and tossed it expertly into the hoop with ease. “HA!” He exclaimed out of excitement. He hadn’t lost his touch yet! Without hesitating he picked up the next ball and tossed it, but this time the ball smacked the rim of the hoop. His smile instantly dropped. Damn. He side eyed Stella to see the joy in her face as the ball bounced back to the start. Quickly he picked up the next ball, then the next, and the next… until one minute was over. By the end of it Levi had missed only two shots. Still pretty good, but not perfect. “Okay, okay. It’s been a while. This is just a warm up.” He laughed and stepped aside for Stella to begin her round.
“A warm up?” Stella placed her hand on the ball, letting their fingers graze one another before pulling it to her. “I don’t remember that being part of the deal.” She commented, situating herself in front of the game. As the timer began, she casually talked, while never losing her focus on the net. “It’s funny, Levi,” she chuckled, aligning her elbow with her shoulder, the ball sitting on her finger pads. Her grip was firm and her stance was that of someone who’s practiced, more often than not. “Did you forget that you got my little brother into basketball?” Smoothly, she pushed the ball upward with her shooting hand, jumping slightly forward, before releasing the ball and following through. “Someone had to make sure he knew the game after you…”
Swoosh.
“Left.”
Her amber eyes glanced at him, letting that last word linger, in the air. She continued, “And,” Gracefully, the ranch girl returned her attention to the net and shot another shot, the same way she did before. Perfect muscle memory. “This game is here every year…” and just like that, her voice trailed off as she picked up the pace. Like she could do this in her sleep, Estella Serrano shot nothing but net. When all ten shots made it in, she gently flung the ball back to the worker and didn’t bother grabbing herself a prize. Seeing that dumb, shocked face on Levi was the best reward she could ever get. Twirling on her toes to face her dear friend, she patted her dress and baited, “…Why wouldn’t I play? Seeing how this is your favorite game. And yet.. you forget, we used to play together. All the time.”
There was a brief silence between the two. They were old friends who had plenty to relearn from one another and even more things to challenge. Whether they were aware of it or not, there was a spark between them. There was something. The silence didn’t last long but it was long enough for her to slow down her racing heart from all the excitement and nerves. She was having fun. She hoped he was too. Stepping forward, inching closer to him, Stella stuck her tongue out and put her hands behind her back. “I win. Want to play again?”
A stab of guilt hit Levi’s heart as Stella mentioned her brother and having to pick up for his absence. He said nothing and did not outwardly react to her comment, but his mind began spinning over what she had said. He had never really considered that him leaving had affected anyone very much at all. As she continued talking and scoring, an amused smile slowly formed on his lips. She was genuinely impressing him; he had not expected to be bested by her, even if they had played this together long ago.
Levi slow clapped as Stella took the victory and he accepted defeat. “You’re a little hustler, hmm?” He joked, “You weren’t this good when we used to play together.” He retorted, chuckling. “Well, I did accept the terms of your challenge. I’m no sore loser. What’s the truth and dare you want from me?”
Rather than immediately tell him what she wanted, Stella finally turned to the worker and chose a big, horse plushie as her prize. Walking away from him, expecting him to follow, she found a group of kids and went straight to the smallest girl. “Hey, Lily,” the songstress approached and brought herself down to the kids’ eye level. “We noticed you really wanted this, so big Brother Levi,” Estella gestured to her friend and smiled, “Worked really hard to get this for you.” The little girl’s reaction was wholesome as her eyes widened, going from teary from constantly losing games to sparkles and excitement.
The girl named Lily didn’t hesitate and grabbed the horsie from Stella. Embracing the plushie, she glanced up at the handsome, older boy and blushed. It was her friends, who were a few years older than her, that spoke up and thanked Levi, explaining that they tried over and over again but couldn’t get enough shots in for the big prize. The group seemed like a younger version of their own friend group. Two girls. Two boys. The charmer, the mother, the protector and the dreamer. The motherly friend whispered something into the other girl’s ear. Lily nodded and with her voice muffled against the stuffed animal, she stammered, “T-thank you, big brother.”
The moment came and went, and the charming boy was quick to grab Lily’s hand to lead his friend group to the next fun thing. It wasn’t long before Estella did the same, grabbing onto Levi’s hand but instead of him taking the lead, she did. “I’ll save the truth for a later date. As for a dare…” her voice trailed off. Turning away from her old friend, her gaze falling on the stage. “Before the day is over, I dare you to go up there, take the mic and do a public apology. I thought, hm. Maybe I’d give you something dirty, but…” the mischievous girl smirked, her words and actions having more intention than Big Brother Levi realized. “...that would be too easy for you. So, you’re going up there and you’re going to speak from your heart. Not your dick. Tell me you’re sorry. Sorry for breaking your promise and leaving me.” Her amber eyes did sadden for a moment before she buried it quickly, shaking it off and continuing, “I’ve forgiven you, obviously, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to torture you.” A giggle escaped her lips as she squeezed his hand. “Or are you going to be a chicken shit?” She poked, before teasingly clucking, “Buk buk ba-gawk!”
“Oh, no, uh, that wasn't me.” Levi mumbled and shook his head in response to Stella putting the nice gesture on him instead, not liking how it made him feel like a fraud. He cringed as the child thanked him anyway, forcing a half-assed smile. He glared playfully at Stella as the children left, making it clear that what she had done had made him uncomfortable. His eyes softened, however, as she intertwined her fingers with his and pulled him in another direction. Willingly, he let her.
His smile dropped as Stella presented her dare to him, feeling anxiety and guilt grip at his heart. He stayed silent for a moment, staring into her eyes to see if she was joking with him or not. It was shocking enough to hear her use vulgar words which she had never used when they were children, but seeing the momentary sadness flash across her face made his heart squeeze. What he had thought was a light hearted time out with her was turning out to be quite the opposite. Apparently he had signed up for a very long guilt trip instead. Briefly, he thought about running from this entire situation and returning to the cafe to help his father instead of dealing with the repercussions of his actions.
Deciding he was done running, he squeezed Stella's hand gently with his own. The fact that she thought he broke the promise broke his heart. “I didn't break the promise, Stell.” He frowned, keeping his eyes on hers. His naturally playful demeanor was long gone now. “I didn't forget about you.” He defended, “I thought about you all the time. And Phoenix, and Tommy.” He sighed, thinking for a moment about all the times that he missed calls and texts and never returned them. “I just… I didn't think you or anyone would care that much if you didn't hear from me.” He shrugged, admitting the truth. He had especially felt this after what had happened between him, Phoenix, and Kitty before he left. They'd be better off not hearing from him in his eyes.
He pulled her into a tight hug then, pressing her body into his. “I would never forget about you.” He whispered to her, resting his chin on top of her head. Sighing, he closed his eyes and accepted his fate. “Jesus, Stell….” His eyes found the platform stage in the center of the festival. “I'm gonna need a few more drinks in me if I'm going up there.” He had never been one to back down from a dare…
Stella didn’t say anything. Not right away. Instead she buried her head into his chest. Closing her eyes, she listened to him explain his piece and breathed in his scent. Truth be told, she hated him. She hated how easy it was for him to come back and pretend no time had passed. How freely he could live, without a care in the world. Maybe there was more to her built up spite than him leaving. Maybe it was the fact that he left her behind. She really did hate how he made her feel. “Well then,” she whispered, not moving out of his embrace. “We should start drinking then, shouldn’t we?”
And drink they would.
